Mutual fund assets in Northeast zoom 145 per cent in 3 years to Rs 40,324 crore in March

MUMBAI: Led by Assam with a share of 73 percent, the average mutual funds assets under management from the Northeastern states has grown by nearly 145 percent from Ra 16,446 crore in March 2020 lows to touch Rs 40,324 crore in March 2024, indicating the growing appetite among small town for this passive investment avenue.

The share of the seven states increased to 0.73 percent of the industry AUM of Rs 55.01 trillion in March 2024, up from Rs 24.71 trillion in March 2020. the AUM crossed Rs 57.3 trillion last month, according to a tabulation of statewise data by Icra Ratings.

Assam leads the region with an Aum of Rs 29,268 crore accounting for nearly 73 per cent of the total AUM of Rs 40,234 crore in March 2024. This is a growth of nearly 159 per cent in the last four years, up from Rs 11,298 crore in March 2020.

Meghalaya accounted for 9 per cent at Rs 3623 crore in March 2024, clocking a 111% growth of over Rs 1714 crore in March 2020. Tripura comes next with 5 per cent at Rs 2174 crore (Rs 1155 crore in March 2020); Nagaland 4 percent at Rs 1668 crore (Rs 965 crore); Arunachal 3.8 per cent at Rs 1532 crore (Rs 525 crore; Manipur 2.9 per cent at Rs 1152 crore (Rs 403 crore) while Mizoram accounted for 2.25 per cent at Rs 907 crore (Rs 386 crore), show the data.

It can be noted that Maharashtra leads all the states with a share of over 44 per cent.

There has been a steady increase in awareness about the various investment options, primarily in smaller towns and cities. This, coupled with growing financial literacy and the surge in interest among retail investors for investing in equities through the mutual fund route, are contributing to a good growth in AUM in towns and cities beyond the top 30.

The mutual fund industry continued on its growth momentum with a steady rise in inflows across both debt and equity-oriented schemes in April. The net AUM of the industry, which registered 35 per cent growth in 2023-24, continued to post a stellar performance in April 2024 and grew by nearly 38 percent to touch Rs 57.26 lakh crore in April 2024 compared to Rs 41.62 lakh crore in April 2023.